Duck Billed Crush
by Invader Snik
Summary: Everything goes as usual in Danville until an unexpected newcomer arrives at the Flynn-Fletcher house: a female platypus that immediately gets Perry's attention. Although she is timid, he'd like to get to know her, but the boys' mother won't let her stay in the house. Will Perry and the she-platypus end up together?
1. Chapter 1

**Sorry I haven't posted lately. It's been a long summer, but I'm back and so I hope you'll forgive my absence...anyway, here's my latest: Duck Billed Crush.**

She knew she was close. She could feel it. Just a little bit longer, and - ah! There it was. As she stood on top of the hill she could see it: the Danville Fountain of Life. It was more obscure of an anomaly than the Fountain of Youth and not quite as reliable, but given its supernatural power it was inevitable that she find out about it. All she could see of it from where she stood were the white guardian-stones that surrounded it, lined up like monoliths to protect what was inside. She skimmed quickly down the hill, her eyes tracing the white rocks for the gap she knew was there, so she could get inside and have a look-see for herself. She darted easily between the rocks and then skidded to a stop at what she saw: the fountain itself, just a small overgrown pool nestled perfectly in the center of a cluster of palm trees. The water seemed to glow faintly with its power, and Moon grinned smugly to herself. Now that she knew this was here she would make good use of it; she would also serve to keep its secret safe. She knew the value of that from what had happened to the one in Seattle-someone had gotten the media involved and word about it had spread like wildfire. The fountain had been sucked dry in a matter of days and that had been the end of that.  
Moon wouldn't let the same happen here. She sat by the edge of the crystalline water and stared into it for a few moments, but then stood up and gave it one last glance before turning to go back to her house. When she got home she could see the morning sun threatening to peek up over the horizon, which meant that it was about bedtime for her. She yawned and then curled up inside for some sleep, platypus at her side.

-three days prior-

Morning came early at the Flynn-Fletcher house, and the boys woke to the sleepy chatter of Perry, who had been sleeping with Ferb the previous night. Ferb yawned and then looked fondly down at the platypus, careful not to disturb him as he got up out of bed to start their morning routine. He and Phineas quickly got dressed and then headed downstairs for first breakfast and then the day's plans.  
Phineas was in the middle of his third bowl of cereal when the doorbell rang, and without thinking he immediately hopped down from the table to go and answer it. When he opened it, however, there was no one outside, and he glanced around a few times in confusion. A sudden squeak from the sidewalk made him look down to see a small bundle, wrapped in a loose blanket. As he took it in both hands one of his eyebrows shot up, as he hadn't expected the bundle to be warm...he turned back to the house and called, "Ferb! Hey, Ferb, come and see this!"  
After a moment Ferb came, noticing the bundle in Phineas' hands but making no comment. He didn't have to. Phineas knew what he meant.  
"Yeah, it is a little weird," he agreed, his eyes shifting back down to the bundle in his hands. "Let's take it upstairs and see what it is."  
Ferb followed him back to their room and sat back on his bed, and Phineas on his own, carefully taking a loose end from the bundle and pulling it apart. When he saw what was inside his eyes widened. "Ferb...c'mere and see this..."  
Ferb looked down at the bundle in Phineas' hands to see the tip of a bill that was all too familiar. As Phineas pulled apart the rest of the blankets he could see a platypus: brown, a little smaller than Perry, with numerous scratches and cuts marking up its body. It sat timidly in Phineas' hands, shaking a little. Both its eyes were locked on him, watching very closely.  
"Aww," Phineas carefully set the platypus down in his lap and kept one arm protectively around it. "We're not gonna hurtcha, little buddy."  
The platypus whined quietly.  
"Looks like whoever owned him before abandoned him. I wonder how he got here...?" Phineas' eyes shifted down to the animal in his lap, noticing the cuts and punctures that riddled its skin. It didn't appear to have anything broken, but it was clear that whatever had happened to it had left it in fear of humans. Its eyes were locked on Phineas in the same way a squirrel regards a hawk, and it only kept still in his lap because it was too scared to move.  
"I think we should keep it," Phineas resolved, "At least until it isn't so scared anymore, poor guy."  
Ferb nodded in agreement, then went downstairs to find a box in which to keep the platypus. He returned a moment later with an empty tangerine container and set it by the bed, grabbing a small blanket off the shelf and laying it out inside. He watched as Phineas gently placed the platypus in the box and then sat back.  
The platypus immediately curled up in the box, glad to be out of Phineas' hands, but still kept its eye on the two boys.  
"I'll go get it some food in case it gets hungry," Phineas stood up and went to borrow some of Perry's food, since he didn't think Perry would mind, and after setting down the food in the corner of the box he turned back to Ferb. "You know," he said, "I think Perry should meet the little guy. Maybe then he wouldn't be so lonely all the time."  
Ferb quickly shook his head. He knew this wasn't going to work out.  
"What? How come? Are platypuses territorial or something?"  
Ferb gave Phineas a look. "You do realize this one's female...?"  
Phineas' eyes widened in realization. "Oh, that's why...well, we'll just have to just keep an eye on them, then."  
As if on cue there was the distinct splat-splat of webbed feet on the floor as Perry walked into the room. His wall-eyed stare allowed him to look at both boys simultaneously, and he chattered.  
"Oh, hey, Perry," Phineas smiled as Ferb picked the critter up and settled him on his lap, scratching him behind his head. "We were just talking about you."  
Perry had no comment.  
"You know, Perry, there's someone I'd like you to meet," Phineas turned back to the platypus in the box, carefully picking her up and then setting her down on the floor in front of him. Ferb set Perry down as well, then sat back and watched.  
Perry only stood with his cock-eyed stare, at least until he noticed this new platypus - a she-platypus, no less. Despite his best efforts his eyes slowly focused on her, and although his stare was the same the blankness it usually carried was gone.  
The brown she-platypus didn't really know what to think. She stared back at Perry, still scared and now confused as well. What was this other one doing here? Was she supposed to fight it? Her owners had made her fight sometimes, usually against tougher animals like cocks or big dogs, so she regarded this other platypus carefully. She kept her eyes on him, taking a cautious step back.  
"Aw, don't be scared of Perry," Phineas gave the she-platypus a careful nudge back toward his own pet, "Go and say hi. He won't bite."  
At Phineas' touch the she-platypus squeaked, shrinking back away from him, and when the door opened a moment later she scrambled under the bed in a panic.  
"Oh, hi, Marissa," Phineas turned to his sister and grinned, "We found an abandoned platypus so we decided to take her in, since we've got Perry already."  
"Another platypus?" Marissa asked, "Can I see?"  
Phineas took a look under the bed and shrugged. "If you can get her out, sure. She's a little shy, y'see."  
"Oh," Marissa peered down under the bed as well. All she could see were two eyes peering back at her; they were clearly afraid of her, and so she backed off a little. Turning back to Phineas she asked, "You think she'll be okay?"  
Phineas shrugged. "I think so. Maybe she just needs a little time to adjust."  
Perry sat at the edge of the bed, staring back at the she-platypus underneath. He could still see her, backing slowly deeper under the bed. Her eyes looked fearfully out at him and she watched him, wary. He returned her gaze for a moment longer than was necessary, then quickly resumed his cock-eyed expression when Phineas looked down and began petting him.  
"What are you gonna call her?" Marissa asked, glancing at the bed.  
Phineas shrugged. "Beats me. We'll probably think of something."  
Candace stomped into the room with the kind of look that Candace usually carried regarding her brothers-demeaning, with just a hint of sourness to get her point across. When she spoke her voice was obnoxious, same as usual. "Phineas, Ferb, you left the cereal out. Mom says you have to put it away." And then she left without another word.  
"You heard her," Phineas said, "Let's go, Ferb. I'm sure the platypus'll be okay for now. C'mon, Perry, let's get you some breakfast. You must be starved!" He scooped Perry up and he, Ferb, and Marissa all stood to go. As they were leaving, Perry watched the bed, longing to truly meet the she-platypus. She _was_ kinda cute, after all.


	2. Chapter 2

It was later that day. The boys were out in the yard, working on their latest invention. Marissa was in her room, drawing things that Perry couldn't see from his place on the floor. The door to Phineas and Ferb's room was closed, and Perry was unhappy about this. He was about to start scratching at the door when his watch beeped, signaling the assignment of his work for the day. Resigned, he sighed and slipped unnoticed out of the room. He headed down to his secret base and spotted his fedora sitting on his chair. Ah, so that's where he'd left it. He picked it up and dropped it perfectly on his head before turning to Major Monogram.

"Good morning, Agent P. You know, you're a little late. Is anything the matter?"

Perry hesitated a moment before shaking his head, dismissing the she-platypus from his thoughts. His work was more important than that right now and he couldn't let anything get in the way of it.

Monogram seemed satisfied with that answer and then continued. "Our sources tell us that Dr. Doofenshmirtz has bought up all the helium in stock for miles. We don't know why but it must be evil. Go out there and put a stop to it!"

Perry saluted and dashed over to his platypus hover-car, hopping in and flying it out to the lawn above. He caught a glimpse of Phineas and Ferb building something very large and mechanical, but he didn't have time to stop and see what it was. He zipped off to Doofenshmirtz Evil, Inc. to fight his daily battle with the evil scientist, parking neatly on the roof and jumping down from there onto the balcony. No sooner had he done so than he was encased in a hard plastic hamster-ball, tainted a merry red in color.

"Ah, Perry the Platypus," came the voice of Doofenshmirtz from inside. "You're a little late, you know."

Perry only crossed his arms.

"Well, no matter," Doofenshmirtz shrugged, stepping out to join Perry on the balcony, "I figure we can wrap this up pretty quick. We always do...okay, so here we go. So I was watching TV the other day and I kept seeing all these ads for cheap storage spaces, and I was all like oh hey, you know, I could use some of that, since I've been going through some stuff and there's actually a lot of junk in here that I don't need to keep but I so don't really want to get rid of - like your trap, for instance, see, I found that last week going through Vanessa's old room - she used to have a hamster...but anyway, about the storage space. So I called up the place but they said all their storage units around here were full so they couldn't rent any space out to me. So I built the Fly-Away-Inator!" on these last words he unveiled his latest invention, standing proudly in front of it with a somewhat evil look on his face. "You see, Perry the Platypus, when I aim it at all those storage units down there everything inside will be infused with helium and then it will all float away, leaving me with all the storage space in the Tri State Area!"

Perry sent a platypus-kick that busted open his hamster-ball trap and then turned to Doofenshmirtz, tackling him and throwing him down. He didn't think this would take long - it rarely did - but Doofenshmirtz quickly pulled a remote out of his lab coat and pushed the big red button in the middle. The Fly-Away-Inator aimed and then fired, giving Perry only a split second to leap out of the way. Instead, the beam from the Inator hit his fedora and it soared up off his head like a leaf on the wind. Before Doofenshmirtz could comment, Perry spun around and smacked him flat in the face with his tail, quickly leaping up onto the Inator and spotting the convenient self-destruct button that always seemed to find its way into Doof's creations. He pressed the button and then bolted back up onto the roof just in time to hear the usual "curse you, Perry the Platypus!" before he flew off in his hover-car. He knew he'd catch a little crap from Monogram about losing another fedora - lately he noticed he'd been losing them a lot - but he'd get another one. He was certain of that.

When he got home Perry headed quickly upstairs in the hopes that the door to the boys' room was open and he could see the she-platypus again. Unfortunately it wasn't, and he gave a disappointed whine before settling in Candace's room for a nap.

* * *

When Perry woke it was almost dinnertime - he could tell not by the sun but by the smells of human food coming from the kitchen downstairs. He headed down in time to see Marissa and the boys come in from the backyard to eat. He greeted them with a chatter and then sat at his usual place under the table. Sometimes Ferb gave him a few scraps if he didn't like what was for dinner, and he had a feeling this time he might get lucky. He sat hopefully at Ferb's feet and waited patiently for anything to come to him. Sure enough, after a minute or so Ferb slipped him some soggy green thing - Perry wasn't really sure what it was, but it was a nice variation from the food he normally had. Contented, he swallowed it and then waited for more.

After a few moments Ferb gave him another one, and then a third. This made Perry very happy, although he knew better than to make his happy-noise here. If either of the parents knew he was here they'd put him outside and then he'd get nothing. Ferb gave him something else, this time a fat piece of soggy broccoli coated in teriyaki sauce. No wonder he didn't want it, Perry thought to himself. He knew humans were extremely picky in regards to their food, and if something was even a little off they wouldn't eat it. That was okay with Perry, though. He'd eat just about anything. Glad for his offerings, he paused a moment to lick the teriyaki sauce off Ferb's fingers before taking the broccoli from him. He couldn't do the same with Phineas, of course - being as ticklish as he was, he'd crack up and then Perry's secret would be out. But no one could keep a straight face like Ferb, so right now he could get away with it.

Just then Perry thought of something. He wondered if the she-platypus upstairs had had her dinner yet. Maybe he should go and find out. Taking the broccoli from Ferb in his bill, he made his way upstairs unnoticed and then headed quietly into the boys' room. He could see the she-platypus sleeping in the box that had been set out for her, but when he entered the room she woke. Instantly her eyes were on him, watching as they always seemed to be, and she shrank back a little.

Perry hesitated for a moment, but then took a cautious step closer. He kept his eyes on her, keeping his movements careful so as not to scare her further. Slowly he approached the edge of her box, but then froze as she shrank back to the far corner. He could see that she was shaking a little, almost bill-to-bill with him, but he carefully dropped the broccoli in front of her before backing away. He laid flat on the floor and then just watched.

The she-platypus only sat quivering for a minute, her eyes locked on Perry, but then slowly crept back toward the center of the box. As Perry scooted back still further she only sat, frozen, taking little notice of her offering. She wasn't quite as scared of him now as she had been earlier, but he was still more than a little intimidating. What exactly did he want from her? That she did not know - she considered herself lucky she had not been made to fight yet. But she was certain that would come.

It always did.

There was the thunder of footsteps from downstairs and immediately she darted back under the bed before the door even opened. She peeked out from under the bed, although she could only see three pairs of feet and little more. She heard they were saying something, but she didn't have a clue what that might be. But Perry knew.

"...and I was kind of hoping maybe - hey, where'd she go?" Phineas' voice cam from the hall before he stepped into the room, followed by first Ferb and then his mother.

"What is it I need to see, Phineas?" the mother asked. Her tone was different from when she'd asked the same question of Candace so many times; this time it was sincere, without even a hint of the sarcasm she so oft carried.

"She was here before dinner," Phineas only shrugged, giving Perry a brief glance. "Do you know where she went, boy?"

Perry only chattered.

"Hmm," Phineas frowned briefly, and then got down to look under the bed. "Oh, there you are. C'mon out, girl, we're not gonna hurt you..."

The she-platypus sat frozen, staring meekly out at Phineas. Carefully he reached under the bed and gave her a small nudge, and she reluctantly came forward, knowing that whatever it was these humans would have her do she would not like, but that she didn't really have much of a choice.

Phineas held her in both arms and then turned back to his mother. "See, Mom? We found her this morning. Can we keep her?"

"Well," Phineas' mother was a little caught off-guard with his question and stalled for a moment. But then she blinked a few times, regaining her train of thought, and shook her head. "I'm afraid not, hon. We don't know where this platypus has been. It might be carrying all sorts of diseases, or fleas, and we don't know if it's been house-trained..."

"We can take care of that, Mom," Phineas protested, "You know how well we take care of Perry. We've already got platypus supplies and everything. Please...?"

Phineas' mother sighed. "Phineas, hon, we can't keep this platypus. We don't even know if it's been fixed or not, and on top of the rest I don't want to start a platypus nursery. It has got to go."

"But Mom-"

"Enough. You can't keep it, and that's final."

Phineas hung his head, defeated. "Yes, Mom," he mumbled, staring sadly down at the animal in his hands. After a moment he set her carefully down in the box on the floor and then sat at the edge of the bed.

His mother left without another word.

"What are we gonna do, Ferb?" Phineas asked, turning to his step-brother, "We can't just let the poor girl go. She won't make it on her own."

Ferb didn't really seem to have an answer.

"What about you, Perry?" Phineas inquired, "What do you think?"

Perry only chattered.

"You're right, Perry," Phineas nodded, "We have to keep her safe tonight. We'll find her a home in the morning."

Soon as Phineas turned his back Perry smiled. He now knew he'd get another chance to meet the she-platypus.


	3. Chapter 3

It was the middle of the night, and the she-platypus couldn't sleep. She was unfamiliar with these new humans, although they didn't seem as threatening than the ones she'd lived with before. She sat in her box, wondering what would happen now that she had escaped the abusive humans. She sighed. She could see the possibility that she might have to fight again, that these humans would be the same as the others. She wasn't really sure. Were all humans like that?

There was a sudden plat-plat of webbed feet on the hardwood floor, and she peeked out of the side of the box to see that other platypus from earlier. Immediately she was nervous, and she shrank back a little in the box. She wasn't certain what he wanted, but he was significantly bigger than she was and that made her careful. She knew that he could definitely take her down if it struck his fancy. She would have to be careful not to pick a fight. Now on edge, she watched.

The he-platypus didn't seem interested in a fight, however. He only seemed curious. He took another step forward, his eyes watching her in return. Seeing her so nervous he paused, now standing still on the floor in front of her. After a moment of hesitation he gave a small quiet chatter. In that chatter he told of the boys, his owners, and of how it was like living here. He told her that she didn't have to be afraid of him, or any of them for that matter, and that although she might not be staying here forever not all humans were scary.

The she-platypus was still a bit uncertain, but if what the he-platypus had said was true, she wouldn't have to be so cautious. She looked back up at him and wondered: could she trust him? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Only time would determine that.

After that she found it much easier to sleep.

* * *

Morning came soon enough, and the she-platypus woke to the sound of the boys' alarm. She watched them get ready for the day, but shrank back out of habit when Phineas turned to her box and smiled.

"Good morning," he told her happily, "We're gonna see if we can find you a new home today."

The she-platypus didn't really have a clue what he said, but instead only watched him, remembering what the he-platypus had told her last night. Maybe these humans weren't going to hurt her.

Then again...

As the boys headed down for breakfast Phineas picked up her box and took it downstairs. Marissa was already halfway through her eggs and toast by the time they came down, and when she spotted the boys she brightened. "Morning, boys," she grinned.

"Hey Marissa," Phineas replied as he set the box down on the table. "You wouldn't happen to know anyone in need of a pet platypus, would you?"

"No," Marissa shook her head, glancing over at the she-platypus in the box, "Sorry."

"Well, I guess we'd better start looking for someone to take her in, then," Phineas resolved with a shrug. "I don't think she'd get too far on her own."

Ferb only nodded in agreement.

Just then Perry came into the room from upstairs. When he spotted the box on the table he perked up a little. He knew who was in there, of course, and he thought he might hang around with the boys for a while today in the hopes he might get to spend a little more time with her. He sat patiently at Phineas' feet as they finished eating, and then followed them out to the garage and watched.

Noticing him so interested Phineas turned to him and smiled. "Hey, Ferb, I think I know what Perry wants to do today. C'mon, boy, you can come too," he picked Perry up and set him down in their red wagon next to the she-platypus' box. Grabbing the handle he and Ferb headed off into Danville's streets, with Perry and the she-platypus in tow.

Perry hopped up on his hind feet and peered over the edge of the box. The she-platypus sat inside, uncertain about what exactly was happening but noticeably less frightened than she had been the day before. She kept her eyes on the two boys - Phineas in particular - but apart form that she just sat.

Perry only watched her for a moment, then came over the side of the box and sat next to her. He was about to scoot a little closer when his watch beeped, making both of them jump. He sighed. He never gets a break, he thought to himself as he reluctantly left the she-platypus behind. Arriving at his base he received his orders from Monogram and then headed off to Doofenshmirtz's place. He hoped this would be quick.

Then again, it usually was.

* * *

It was mid-afternoon by the time Perry got home. Today had not gone well for him. He hadn't got to spend hardly any time with the she-platypus, and on top of that he'd lost another fedora to Doof's latest Inator. Soon as Monogram found out he'd probably get chewed out about that, but at least right now he was home. He could see the boys in the backyard with the she-platypus, trying to coax her out of the box with a few of his favorite platypus treats. When he spotted Perry Phineas quickly hid the treats behind his back, thinking Perry hadn't seen. But Perry didn't mind. He knew there were plenty more treats for him later. He only sat between the two boys and watched the she-platypus. He knew that since they hadn't found a home for her today that meant she could stay another night. He had a feeling that if this kept up for another week or so, their mother would relent and let her stay.

Although he didn't see it likely that was still what he hoped for.

For now, however, she didn't seem to be going anywhere. She only sat in her box, watching the two boys, not entirely sure whether she wanted to come out for the treat or not. Eventually she stuck her head out long enough to snatch the treat from Phineas' fingers, but then retreated back inside to eat it.

"Hmm," Phineas paused, thinking, "She still seems a little shy. Hey, Perry, you think you can get her to come out? I mean, you're both platypuses. It might be worth a shot, right?" Without waiting for an answer he picked Perry up and set him in front of the she-platypus' box. Crossing his arms neutrally he just sat back and waited.

Perry only sat, wall-eyed, on the grass. After a moment he chattered but did nothing beyond that. He knew he wouldn't be of much help to them. Not when they were watching him like this, anyway.

Phineas shrugged. "Well, I guess it was worth trying, anyway."

Ferb only nodded.

"I wish we could keep her. Even after we stopped at all those houses around the neighborhood, nobody wanted her. How could anyone not want her? I mean look at her, she's adorable," Phineas gestured to the she-platypus with both hands with a kind of sympathetic look.

The she-platypus made no comment.

Just then Ferb spoke up: "Perhaps Moon would want it."

Phineas faltered for a second, and then smiled. "Hey, yeah! Ferb, that's a great idea! We'll take her to Moon's place tomorrow morning. That way we can visit her whenever we want! And Perry can visit too. You'd like that, wouldn't you, bud?" he picked Perry up in both hands, holding him out in front of him and staring into his crooked eyes.

Perry didn't seem to know what to think.

* * *

Perry couldn't sleep. It was almost midnight, and he hadn't even come close to drifting off. He couldn't get out of his mind what Ferb had mentioned earlier, that the boys take the she-platypus to stay with Moon. On one hand he was glad that she would be staying relatively closeby - closer than Doof's place, anyway - so he could see her most anytime he wanted. On the other hand, he wasn't certain about Moon. The first time he'd seen her was a couple of weeks ago, but he could tell almost immediately that she was wild. She didn't know how to be with people. The only reason that she had helped the boys out was because she would get something out of it. It was almost like she didn't understand pity. He'd heard that she'd almost eaten Agent B a while ago too, and that Phineas had to talk her out of that one. He wondered what would become of the she-platypus if the boys let Moon have her. He was almost certain it wouldn't be good.

When he finally drifted off to sleep hours later, images of the wild Moon plagued his dreams.


	4. Chapter 4

The sun woke the she-platypus early, and she was a bit glad that the boys weren't up yet. She was still wary of them, even after that other platypus had told her that they wouldn't hurt her. She could see him, too, sleeping with the one on the yellow bed, his tail drooping off the side and twitching occasionally in his sleep. After a minute or so he woke, startled, and then yawned, hopping down onto the floor and turning to the she-platypus. They stared at each other for a minute, both silent. One of them blinked.

Just then the alarm went off, making them both jump, and a minute later Phineas scooped Perry up in his arms. "Good morning, buddy," he said happily, scratching him behind the head and making him chatter contentedly.

The she-platypus only sat, watching without comment. She noticed that Perry kept his eyes on her, although she wasn't really sure what to think of that. Nonetheless, she stared back at him.

There was a knock on the door and Marissa poked her head inside. "Morning, boys," she said brightly, "Any ideas about that platypus?"

"Yeah, actually," Phineas nodded, handing Perry off to Ferb, "Ferb said maybe Moon would want it."

As soon as Moon was mentioned Perry cringed. He knew she was bad news, but he didn't see anything he could do about their decision. He only hoped the she-platypus would be okay.

Marissa seemed a little hesitant as well. "Moon? Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I don't see why not," Phineas grinned, "She's nice enough. She did save me from a shape-shifting monster, after all."

"That's true, but she's a little..." Marissa paused for a moment, searching for the word she wanted, but then brightened, having found it. "A little wild. I'm not sure she would be the best to take care of a platypus."

Perry's eyes darted back to Phineas, hoping he wouldn't come up with a counter-argument. Regardless, Phineas spoke: "I don't think Moon would mind a pet. As far as I know she's all alone up in that house. She could use some company."

Marissa gave up with a resigned sigh. "Alright," she said, "We'll go and take it over to her after breakfast."

Perry groaned. Why did she give up so easily? If he didn't know better he'd try to persuade Phineas himself, but he was pretty adamant about this and wasn't about to change his mind.

Phineas turned to Perry. "I heard that," he said, "I bet someone's hungry. Come on," he took him back from Ferb as they and Marissa headed downstairs for breakfast.

The rusted iron gate to Shadowshire swung open with a cliche creak, and the sound of it made Perry wince. Marissa and the boys had come around sundown with the she-platypus in the hopes that Moon would take her, and Perry had gone with them. He had to know Moon wouldn't do anything too horrible, supposing they persuaded her to take the she-platypus in the first place. He'd never set webbed foot past Shadowshire's gates, and he had no intention of doing so again - the place creeped him out, much in the same way as a Frankenstein's castle or a deserted cemetery at night.

Marissa took the brass lion's-head knocker in one hand and dropped it four times on the heavy oak door, then stood back and waited. She could hear the sound echoing about inside before finally falling into silence a moment later. As the slow seconds ticked by her mind began to race: what if Moon didn't want the platypus? who would take her then? She didn't want anything to happen to the platypus - the little critter was far too cute for that. But what if-

The door suddenly opened with hardly a sound, and there stood Moon, her eyes dull and her voice flat. "What is it?"

"Hey, Moon," Phineas said happily, "There's something we wanted to talk to you about, if that's okay."

Moon regarded him in silence for a moment but then yawned, showing her teeth for a moment before snapping them shut. "I just got up. Your timing's good. C'mon inside," she held the door open for them and they all went into the empty living room. "Well, have a seat," she found a place on the bare wooden floor, and the boys quickly joined her.

After a moment Marissa did the same.

"What's in the box?" Moon asked, giving said box a short glance and then turning back to Phineas.

Phineas gave her a look. "That's kind of what we wanted to talk to you about, actually. See, we found this platypus a few days ago. Mom said we couldn't keep it and we were wondering if you wanted it."

"Lemme see," Moon told him.

Phineas opened the top of the box and pulled the she-platypus out, and immediately one of Moon's eyebrows went up. "Why can't you keep it?" she asked, "You've got one already; what's another?"

Before Phineas could answer Marissa spoke. "Mom said she didn't want it around in case it happened to lay any eggs..."

Moon took the she-platypus from Phineas and looked her over. "Well, I could definitely take it off your hands if you need me to. Yeah, that sounds good."

"Really?" Phineas brightened.

Moon smirked. "Of course. Who am I to turn down a free dinner?"

At this Perry's heart just about stopped. He knew this would happen. He knew coming here was a bad idea. His eyes went quickly to Marissa in the hopes that she would feel the same.

She did. "What? No, you can't eat it! That's barbaric!"

"That's life," Moon shrugged.

"How can you say that to such a cute helpless little creature?" Marissa glared, grabbing the she-platypus back from Moon and holding her protectively in her arms.

The she-platypus didn't seem to care one way or the other.

"Well, food ain't gonna catch itself," Moon told her, "I don't plan on going hungry, y'know."

"Moon," Phineas put in, "There's tons of other stuff for you to hunt around here. These woods are full of things you can eat."

"You don't have to tell me, kid. I've been catching the local wildlife for days," Moon crossed her arms and gave Phineas a look. "What's that critter got to do with you so much, anyway? How come you feel for it?"

Phineas paused for a moment. "It's hard to explain," he said finally, "I don't suppose you would understand - you've never really had a pet before, have you?"

On the word pet Moon's eyes shifted, as if it hadn't occurred to her that that was what the she-platypus might become. "You want me to keep it as a pet?"

"Yeah," Marissa nodded, "Don't you get lonely up here all by yourself?"

"What? No," Moon gave her a weird look, "What would I get lonely for?"

Phineas' eyes widened a little. "You mean you've never been lonely?"

Moon shook her head. "No. Doesn't really accomplish anything, does it?"

"But don't you sometimes wish there was someone around for you to talk to?" Marissa inquired. She couldn't wrap her mind around the concept Moon was talking about - that she could live all by herself up in this empty house, with no one else around, and not get lonely. It just didn't make sense.

Moon shook her head. "Not unless they've brought food."

"But what about friends-?"

Moon just groaned. "Not this again. I don't need any friends. They're not much fun."

"Maybe you just need some better friends," Phineas reasoned.

"No, maybe I don't," Moon shook her head, "The Hudson boy was bad enough."

"Who was that?" Marissa asked.

Realizing her mistake Moon quickly turned away. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Well, okay. But if you don't want any friends how about a pet?" she loosened her grip on the she-platypus a little, although not entirely, and kept her eyes on Moon in case she decided she'd want to cut it up and eat it after all.

Moon just shrugged. "Fine. I'll take it."

"And you better not kill it and eat it," Marissa added.

"Fine," Moon sighed reluctantly, "How long am I s'posed to hold it for you?"

"Just give it a few days," Phineas grinned, "I think it'll grow on you."

Moon looked down at the she-platypus in Marissa's lap and took it, holding it up and giving it a look-over. "Well, okay."

"What're you going to call it?" Marissa asked.

Moon frowned. "What? Oh. That's right, pets have names. Well..." she glanced back at the platypus for a moment but then decided: "Khan."

Before Marissa could protest Phineas cut in: "Um, Moon? That's a girl platypus."

"Does it matter?" Moon asked, "If it's mine I can call it what I want."

"I suppose. Just take care of her, okay?"

"Yeah," Moon looked back at the she-platypus in her hands, "Of course."

Something in the way she said that set Perry on edge, but there wasn't a whole lot he could do about it except give Moon a warning glare on their way out. As soon as they got back home he hopped up onto Ferb's bed and waited for the boys to get ready for their sleep. He settled in with Ferb after lights-out, but he still couldn't get Moon off his mind. She just seemed...dangerous...

* * *

It was almost midday by the time Perry woke. He found it a little odd that Monogram hadn't called him into work yet, but he was glad he might get a day off for once. As he headed downstairs for breakfast he found the boys, Marissa, and Moon sitting at the kitchen table eating lunch. What was Moon doing here? She'd only ever come over to the backyard a few times, and into the house just once.

Phineas glanced down at him and grinned. "Good morning, sleepyhead. Moon just made lunch for everyone. I bet you're hungry. Here, it's pretty good," he set a bowl of food down in front of Perry and then watched.

Perry glanced down at the bowl in front of him. It just looked like minced meat - how typical of Moon, who only ate what she could catch. He supposed it was probably squirrel or rabbit, but nonetheless he'd eat it. He was surprised at how good it was soon as he did; it was almost like his normal food, only just that much better - tangy, almost, with just a hint of a bite to it.

"I see you're liking the catch," Moon put in with a tiny smirk.

Phineas grinned. "Yeah. What exactly is it, anyway? I forgot to ask."

"Good, isn't it?" Moon flicked an eyebrow and cracked a slightly smugger smirk. "Today's catch: platypus."

Perry woke with a start. He could feel his heart racing and a cold sweat having broken out all over him. It took his mind a few seconds to realize he'd only been dreaming, but after that he sighed, resting his head down on the side of the bed. He knew it would be a while before he got back to sleep. Maybe he wouldn't sleep at all. He thought that a little more likely. But at least the she-platypus was okay. At least he hoped she was. With that Moon he couldn't be too sure.

He tried to get back to sleep, but with no luck. It was almost daybreak by the time he gave up and went downstairs. He had to go see exactly what it was Moon was doing with that girl. He had to know she would be alright. He made his way quickly toward the old house, and by the time he got there the sun was just starting to poke up on the horizon - well, back with the rest of the neighborhood, anyway. Here it was always raining.

He couldn't hear anything from inside, but he knew better than to hope Moon was sleeping. He'd overheard Phineas once mentioning how she slept during the day and was up at night.

Maybe Moon was a vampire.

No, no, that's stupid, he frowned to himself. There's no such things as vampires. He shook the thought out of his head as he approached the front window and peeked inside.

Moon didn't seem to be here, although he could see the she-platypus sleeping on a pile of grass in the corner. Khan, she was called now. He didn't like that. "Khan" wasn't a name for a creature like her. She was too clean, too nice, too beautiful. She should have a better name, he thought to himself. Something like Jessamine, or Lavender, or-

Just then the door opened, and the sound made him jump. In now came Moon, with a smug look in her eye. Whatever she'd just done Perry knew it couldn't have been good. But Moon didn't seem to want to share. Instead she just yawned, stretched, and then curled up on the floor in the corner to sleep.

Khan glanced over at her and, with a small quiet sigh, curled up with her, settling quickly back into sleep.

Perry sat and watched for several minutes, transfixed by sleeping Khan on the other side of the empty window, until he remembered the boys still sleeping back in their room. He supposed he'd probably better get back there before they'd notice he was missing. With a resigned sigh, he hopped down from the windowsill and headed across the eternally soggy Shadowshire lawn, back to the more familiar realm of the boys' room. As he came through the front door he remembered to pause and wipe his feet, as he didn't want to leave any evidence he'd been out and he knew muddy platypus tracks were a dead giveaway.

He found that he could sleep better now that he knew Khan was okay.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello again. It's just me, Invader Snik. I've got the rest of this story written out already (although I'm definitely open to a few minor changes if need be) so I figure I might be posting a little more often if that's alright. I'm toying with the idea of a Halloween one-shot (since that's one of my favourite holidays) so let me know if you'd be interested in that. Thanks.**

* * *

It was less than two hours later when Perry woke to the sound of his wrist alarm chirping blandly at him. Good god, he groaned, not now. Shutting off the alarm he yawned, and then waddled sleepily down to the kitchen to find some coffee before heading down to headquarters. By the time he got there he was feeling a bit better. The coffee hadn't taken full effect yet, but at least now the bitter taste in his mouth kept him awake. He reminded himself to see if he could find caffeinated soda next time. The coffee wasn't a good idea.

Soon as he came down into the base Monogram frowned at him. "Agent P, you're late again. That's the third time this week."

"Actually, sir," Carl piped in from somewhere off-screen, "It's only Monday, so technically-"

"I didn't ask you, Carl," Monogram snapped, glaring briefly in Carl's direction before turning back to Perry. "As I was saying, Agent P, you're late again. Is there anything we need to know regarding that-?"

"-like, say, a new friend or something?" Carl interrupted.

"I said can it, Carl!" Monogram barked, folding his arms and giving the intern a very sour look.

"Sorry, sir," Carl replied, "It's just that I was hoping at least one of us had gotten a life..."

"Nobody feels sorry for you. Sheesh," Monogram rolled his eyes and then glanced back at Perry, who had been sitting with his arms crossed, staring at the screen with a flat look on his face. "Well, Agent P, normally I would have you go after Doofenshmirtz, as is your usual, but today there is something far more serious that needs to be taken care of. Recently we found out that one of our best agents has gone rogue. Agent K has been spotted in your area, and we need you to put a stop to it before anyone gets hurt. Good luck, Agent P."

Perry turned and left without so much as a chatter. As the automatic sliding doors opened he heard Carl make a comment about how nobody should feel bad for Monogram either, but quickly dismissed it from his mind as he headed off with his trusty jet-pack. At least it was a break from his routine with Doofenshmirtz, he thought to himself, and although it was more serious than a day off he'd take what he could get. He wondered what Agent K was all about. Why would anyone from the OWCA go rogue? He didn't know, but he'd be finding out soon enough. He supposed he wouldn't be too hard to spot, considering the name, which implied a kangaroo, or a koala, or - or Khan. At this his mind stalled. What if Khan turned out to be Agent K? What would he do? He knew what he was supposed to do, but could he bring himself to do it? He liked Khan too much. He didn't think he'd be able to hurt her. Maybe she wasn't Agent K, he told himself, maybe he was just over-thinking this.

But it was his job to find out, much as he didn't like it. With a resigned sigh he headed over to Moon's old house, keeping himself out of sight in case either she or Khan were watching. He didn't much like Moon either. She was just too wild. She reminded him of a bad wolf, keen of eye and sharp of fang, waiting for a chance to snatch him up. He told himself to be extra careful of her. Hiding his jet-pack behind a cluster of overgrown shrubs he peeked in the front window of the house. Seeing no one there he hopped inside, careful not to make a sound, and from there down the rickety spiral staircase into the basement. He could feel the temperature dropping with each step, and he wondered how Moon could bear to be down here. Maybe he should go check upstairs-

Just then there was the distinct creak of old hardwood floors behind him and he jumped, the hairs on the back of his neck prickling up for a split second before he grabbed his fedora and hid it behind his back in case it happened to be Moon standing there. He was relieved to see that instead it was Khan, staring at him from the dark wooden basement floor. She regarded him in silence for a moment, but then sneezed.

Perry's mind froze. What if this was Agent K? How could he handle this now? How could he make sure he wouldn't hurt her? He knew what he was supposed to do - take her down at all costs - but he couldn't. He just couldn't. With nothing else in his mind now he just blinked.

Khan didn't seem to notice. She just sat. After a minute or so she rolled over and went to sleep.

Perry immediately relaxed, setting his fedora again in its rightful place on his head and glancing around the room. He could see a small cabinet off to one side and opened it, hoping for something useful regarding Khan. Instead he found a box of platypus treats. Well, that wasn't exactly what he'd meant. Closing the cabinet, he headed back upstairs, but not before casting one last glance back at sleeping Khan. He hoped he wouldn't find anything about her here. He kept an eye out for Moon as well, but she didn't seem to be around at the moment, so-

Just then the doorbell rang and he jumped, darting under the sofa so that Moon wouldn't see him when she came to answer it. He could hear the stairs creak as she came down, giving an immense catlike yawn and shaking the dust out of her hair before opening the door. A minute later he heard Phineas' chipper voice: "Hey, Moon."

"It's the middle of the day, guys," Moon yawned again, her teeth snapping shut as she finished, "What is it?"

"We just wanted to drop by to see how Khan was doing," Phineas said with a grin. "Marissa was worried you weren't taking care of her."

Moon regarded Phineas in silence for a moment, but then turned and headed off downstairs, returning a moment later with Khan in one hand and the other in the pocket of her faded grey jeans. "She's fine, I think, except she might be defective."

"What do you mean?" Phineas frowned.

"Well, she doesn't really do anything," Moon told him, setting Khan down on the floor and the taking a seat in front of her. "Khan, sit. Lie down. Roll over."

Khan only blinked.

"See?" Moon turned back to Phineas, and shrugged. "She doesn't do anything. She just stands there all day. How am I supposed to raise her to hunt like this?"

"Um, Moon, I don't know how to tell you this, but-" Phineas paused, sitting next to her and choosing his next words carefully. "She's a platypus. They don't do much."

"What?" Moon frowned. "They've got to be good for something. Why else would you keep them as pets...?"

"Um-" Phineas began, but couldn't finish before Candace butted in, her typical strident tone making Moon wince.

"I know! I never got it either! I mean we've had Perry what, five years, six years, whatever, and he never does anything! He's just a meat brick!"

On the word _meat_ Moon's stomach gave an empty rumble, but she ignored it and instead glared at Candace. "Go away," she said, "You're annoying."

"What-!" Candace faltered, her mouth hanging open for a few seconds before she turned on her heels. "Fine. I didn't want to be here anyway," she declared, doing her best to look dignified as she stomped off.

"Moon, that wasn't really very nice," Phineas put in, giving her an oddly neutral look. Due to his usual perky optimism, Moon supposed that neutral was the closest he could come to being angry.

"Well, I don't like her," Moon defended.

"But you don't just tell her that," Phineas told her, "It's not nice."

"What else do you want me to say that'll make her go away?" Moon asked, a bit puzzled, "I don't want her hanging around my house, so-"

Phineas gave her a slightly irritated look. "Just try to be a little nicer around people, okay? I know you're not really used to being around people, but it's not usually okay to be so blunt like that. People will think you're weird."

Moon raised a skeptical eyebrow. "I know how the world works," she replied, her tone the slightest bit short, "I've been in it longer than you have, and I've seen more of it than you have, and I've been through a lot more than you have. I've made it this far on my own, so I don't think I'll be needing any help from you, thanks."

Without any sort of provocation Khan yawned.

Now distracted, Phineas gazed down at her, coaxing her closer with one hand. "Aww, almost forgot about you, girl. You're doing okay here, aren't you?"

Khan didn't answer. Instead she just found a comfy place in Phineas' lap, resting her head on his leg and drooping her tail over one knee. After she'd found out these humans weren't dangerous she found she'd begun to take a liking to them. She still wasn't completely comfortable around all of them - especially not all together - but the two smaller ones were okay, and the other one, too, for the most part. Sometimes she came back from the outside and she smelled like death, but at least she was always nice to Khan, and never hurt her - not like those other humans, the ones that had had her before. She didn't really want to think about that; instead she pushed it out of her mind and instead thought about Phineas, how he had found her, and taken her inside where she had met that he-platypus. He was a little strange - even she could tell that - but he wasn't really bad. Maybe that's how all the other animals were. Well, the ones that didn't fight, anyway. She didn't really want to think about her experiences with those. Instead she just sat limp in Phineas' lap, and after a moment she could feel Ferb's hand scratching her head as well. Her eyes slitted in contentment, and after a few minutes she drifted off to sleep.

Phineas looked back up at Moon, keeping his voice quiet so he wouldn't wake Khan. "See, this is what having a pet is about. She doesn't have to be a ferocious hunter, you know."

"You make it sound as if it's my new job to cuddle her," Moon observed, a hint of sarcasm now in her voice.

Phineas didn't seem to notice. "Well, that is a big part of it. You should spend some time with her. Who knows, maybe you'll come to like her."

"What, you mean you're serious?" Moon cocked an eyebrow, shifting her weight onto one foot and settling one hand on her hip. "You're trying to turn her into a new friend, aren't you? I see it. That's exactly what you're doing."

"Well, yeah," Phineas shrugged.

Moon gave him a slightly irritated look. "I already told you I don't need any friends. I can handle it by myself. She can stay here but don't expect any sort of tickle-fights or kitten-whiskers. That's not what I do."

"Well, as long as she's alright," Ferb reasoned.

Moon nodded. "Yeah. I'll keep her fed. She's got enough space. Ain't nothin' gettin' in here without me catchin' it. What else does a platypus need?"

Phineas was about to make a comment, but just then from his place under the couch Perry sneezed.

Instantly Moon turned, her eyes narrow as she scanned for the source of the noise. The room was so silent she could hear the boys' breathing, and Perry's as well. Her eyes settled on the old dusty sofa in the corner, and she smirked to herself. She knew she would catch her prey.

And so did Perry. With no way out of this he gave up, leaving his fedora under the couch (he'd come back for it later) before waddling out and over to the boys. He offered what he hoped was an ordinary chatter and settled next to Khan on the floor.

"Perry, how long have you been here?" Phineas asked, not really expecting an answer but still a little curious. Scratching his pet on the back of his head, he grinned. "Oh, well. I guess it doesn't matter."

Moon's eyes settled on Perry, also curious. How had he gotten inside without her knowing? She hadn't left the door open, and as far as she knew platypuses couldn't fly in through the windows. He was definitely too short to reach the doorknob, even if he was somehow able to open it. Platypuses didn't have thumbs, either. Did they? Nah. Moon didn't think so. But still, it was definitely a little weird. Although she wouldn't comment on it, she kept it in her mind.

Perry kept his eyes on Moon for a minute, but then when she seemed to dismiss it he relaxed. He crawled up into Ferb's lap, having gotten tired of his place on the floor, and sat in silence. He knew Moon wouldn't bring that up again. At least, he hoped she wouldn't. She was a bit of a wild-card; he didn't know her nearly well enough to be able to predict anything she might say. None of them really knew her, except for the little she'd told them about herself. He knew she'd been traveling awhile, and she was from a place pretty far away, but beyond that she kept them pretty well in the dark. Why had she come here? She seemed like the wandering type, and yet she'd found a house and begun to settle in just like that. If she hadn't been so much of a loner he would attribute her decision to the boys, but as it was he supposed it more coincidental than anything.

Of course, Perry thought to himself, there really isn't such a thing as coincidence, is there?


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry, just** a** short chapter today. But I promise there's much more to come. I'll post again in a few days.**

* * *

Perry sighed. It had been two days since he'd gotten the special mission regarding Agent K, but despite his efforts he had nothing more than what he'd started with. He felt better about Khan, though; a search through Moon's house while she'd been out hunting had reassured him that neither she nor Khan were involved.

But that still left the question of where Agent K was hiding. He didn't have any clues and he knew it. He supposed Agent K knew it as well. Wherever he was hiding, he was covering his tracks exceptionally well. It might be another few days before Perry could pinpoint him.

Just then his wristwatch beeped, making him jump, and he quickly shut it off so that the boys wouldn't notice. He glanced up at them to make sure, and then when they weren't looking he slipped away without a sound.

By the time he got down to the base Monogram was waiting impatiently for him. The angry look on his face made Perry uneasy. "Agent P," he said, "I don't suppose you've had any luck with Agent K, have you?"

Instantly Perry's heart sank. Reluctantly he shook his head, keeping his eyes locked on Monogram. Whatever was coming he probably deserved it, but he knew it wasn't going to be pretty.

Monogram was silent, making Perry more nervous. Finally he spoke, his voice short and irritated. "I was hoping for better from you, Agent P. You're usually so much more efficient."

Perry only sat, bearing Monogram's words in silence. He didn't want to tell him about Khan, since he was certain Monogram wouldn't listen. Since she hadn't turned out to be Agent K, he would see her as nothing other than a distraction. He wouldn't understand the fascination Perry felt with her. He was just a grumpy old man with a unibrow.

Monogram seemed like he was about to say something else, but just then Carl's voice piped up from somewhere off-screen. "Sir, there's something you might want to see-"

"For the last time, Carl, I don't want to see every cute cat picture you find online, okay?" Monogram snapped, crossing his arms and giving the intern an unusually sour look.

"No, sir, it's important," Carl replied, "Come here and see this."

Monogram sighed exasperatedly but, regardless, he disappeared off the screen. A moment later came his voice: "Great googly-moogly..."

"It's from Agent Pinky in an urgently-marked email," Carl explained, "Apparently he found it on his way to his nemesis' lair."

Monogram's voice shifted now from angry to somewhat pleased. "Have a biscuit sent to Agent Pinky for good work," he told Carl, then returned to his place on the screen. In one corner there appeared a small photo, which Perry assumed was what Pinky had found. It grew to about half the size of the screen, and immediately Perry's eyes widened. It was Khan, sitting alone in the woods, seemingly bored. She was nestled in a cluster of brambles, with a small pile of wild strawberries nearby. But that wasn't what had caught Perry off guard. Soon as he saw it his mind froze.

Khan was wearing a fedora.


	7. Chapter 7

It was dark. Moon was out in the forest, heading back to the mystical pond she'd found a few days ago. She hadn't told anyone about it, of course, since she knew enough that it had to be protected. She preferred to visit alone - well, as alone as one could be when carrying a platypus on one's shoulder. Phineas had insisted that Moon keep Khan around for a few days, and reluctantly she had agreed (although only because Phineas had promised her a steaming bag of grease-food from the Krazy Taco if she did). She remembered what he'd said regarding her and Khan. He'd said they would be friends after a while. But Moon knew better. She didn't need any friends. She'd made that mistake once.

She had no intention of making it again.

Khan, on the other hand, just sat blankly. She wasn't sure what to think about her new human taking her out like this, but she knew Moon would catch her if she tried to run off. She'd seen Moon hunt before, and she had to admit it scared her. She preferred to stay up here where she would be safe.

After a few minutes Moon stopped, having spotted the white rocks that lined the crystalline pond she'd found. Jumping up onto one of them she glanced down at the water, sparkling brightly in the light of her namesake.

Khan was suddenly uneasy. Something about this place seemed unnatural. She hopped down from Moon's shoulders, preferring to stay up on the white rocks.

Moon turned back to Khan, and frowned. "C'mere. What's your problem?"

Khan just whined. This place was unnatural. Couldn't Moon sense that too?

Moon just rolled her eyes. "Fine, whatever," and then she disappeared down into the thick undergrowth that lined the pond.

Khan only sat, nervous, resting her head on the bare rock. She thought coming here was a bad idea. Maybe she should head back to the house, where she would be safe-

There was a sudden snap behind her, and she turned, her eyes wide. She couldn't see anything through the darkness, but she knew that something was here. Her mind flashed to the image of a ferocious bear, hungry for her, and she took a step back.

But it wasn't a bear. It was just the he-platypus that she remembered from the house where the small humans lived. But something was different about him.

He was standing on two legs. She thought that was weird, but she was relieved that he wasn't a hungry bear. She just sat back and watched him.

Perry knew what he was supposed to do. He was supposed to take her back to headquarters and let Monogram deal with her. But instead he just stood, frozen, indecisive. He couldn't hurt her. He liked her too much. But he was almost certain she didn't see him the same way. She was just a rogue, and she had to be taken down.

And so he sprung into action.

Soon as he lunged Khan backed away, turning to run, but Perry was faster. He landed hard on her, pinning her down under him and producing a pair of tiny handcuffs to keep her from fighting as he took her back to headquarters.

Khan squirmed out of his grip and turned to face him, backing away. Her mind came back to all those times she'd been made to fight, before she'd escaped, and immediately she was afraid. The he-platypus was bigger than she was, which made it likely that he would take her down.

But she would rather fight than let him push her around. Ducking her head to use as a ram she charged, pushing him perilously close to the edge of the rock. But she wasn't strong enough to shove him over, and he retaliated with a hard slam of his tail. She skidded back, and he hit her again. He seemed determined to win, but not arrogant like so many of the other creatures she'd faced. He approached her, and she took a step back - one too many; her foot slipped on the edge of the rock and she tumbled back, landing a little roughly in the foliage below.

Without waiting for her to return Perry dove after her, hardly making a sound as he hit the soft grass. He could see Khan turn to run, but he wasn't going to let her escape. He ran after her, quickly catching her and throwing her back, through a thick curtain of leaves and down out of sight. But he realized his mistake too late. Following her through the leaves he saw that she'd landed right at Moon's feet.

Moon looked down at the two of them, pulling her dagger out of its sheath at her hip. Her eyes settled on Perry, and he only had a split second to precess what had happened before she kicked him, sending him flying back into the white stone. Before he could shake himself off, she grabbed him by the collar and held him up against the stone, her knife slicing cleanly across his side. She said not a word, but in her eyes her meaning was clear: _you stay away from her_.

Perry's mind spun, dizzy from Moon's swift attack. He glanced back at her, managing little more than a quiet whine.

Moon held him in her gaze, silent. But then she nodded, having gotten her point across, and tossed him away. Turning back to Khan she scooped her up in her arms, and the two of them headed down to the pool.

Perry lay still on the ground, sore from his fight. Eventually he supposed he'd better get back to the boys' house, since they would definitely notice his absence. The cut that Moon had made stung as he stood, but he ignored it as best he could as he headed home. Settling into sleeping Ferb's lap he quickly shed the sharp sting and instead took up the dull ache of sleep.

* * *

"Moon! Moon, open up!"

There was an irritated groan from inside, but a few seconds later the door opened and Moon yawned. "What?"

Phineas looked up at her, his eyes angry. Behind him stood Ferb, with Perry settled meekly in his hands. Phineas crossed his arms. "Explain this," he demanded, giving Perry a brief glance before turning back to her.

"Oh, is that all? And here I was hoping it was important," Moon's voice was flagrantly irritated yet tired, having been woken in the midst of the daylight. Her eyes settled on Phineas, unconcerned, and she yawned again.

Phineas frowned. "Moon, this is serious! Why would you hurt Perry like that?"

"I found him last night going after mine," Moon snapped, "Maybe you should keep him on a leash."

"What-?" Phineas glared, "How dare you accuse Perry! He wouldn't hurt anyone! He's just a platypus!"

"Then maybe _you'd_ like to take responsibility for what happened to Khan last night? I saw your pet going after mine, and if it's gonna be one of the two I'd rather keep mine safe. If you want to do the same, I suggest you keep him inside. He seems to want to get into trouble if you let him out."

Phineas could feel his face turning a bright red. How dare she say these things about poor Perry! What does she think he is, a snack? He realized dimly that she likely does. Perhaps that was what upset him the most. Even after all this, she was still just an animal. She reacted the same to a slaughtered deer and a pile of tacos. She saw Perry as food rather than a pet. He guessed she saw Khan the same way. When he finally spoke his voice was quiet. "I want Khan back."

"Excuse me?" Moon cocked an eyebrow, giving him a somewhat amused look.

Phineas looked up at her, his eyes both angry and worried. "I want Khan back. I don't think she'll be safe here."

"Really now," Moon remarked dryly, "And I don't think she'll be safe anywhere else. I told you I'd keep her, kid, and I intend to do just that."

Phineas shook his head. "She's not safe with you," he insisted, "Look at what you did to poor Perry! How do we know you won't do the same to Khan?"

"Listen to me, Mister Phineas," Moon snapped hotly, "I promised you I'd keep her, and I will. I never make promises I don't intend to keep. Got it?"

Phineas protested: "But what if she gets hurt-?"

"She won't," was all Moon said.

Phineas sighed, defeated. "Fine. But if you come after Perry again-"

"Don't even think about threatening me," Moon told him, coupled with a cold stare. "I'm not scared of you or your brother. But as long as your animal doesn't come after mine again, there's nothing to worry about, is there?"

Phineas sat in silence, fuming, but then just nodded. He was still furious at Moon, but he knew there was little he could do about it. "Come on, Ferb. Let's go home."

Moon regarded them in icy quiet as they stood to leave. As they passed her Ferb gave her a disappointed look, holding Perry protectively in his arms.

After they were gone Moon sat alone. She understood that Phineas had been angry, but he seemed too eager to overlook the fact that his platypus had attacked hers. Was he really that naive? How harmless did he think platypuses were, anyway? Then again, Moon reasoned, he wasn't really smart enough to know what they could do. She was certain he'd never hunted a day in his life. He didn't have a clue how harmless animals were - or, more often, weren't. Even the squirrels could bite if she wasn't careful, she knew. So perhaps it might not have been entirely Phineas' fault. She still blamed him, of course, since he hadn't kept a good enough eye on his creature, but at least she might be a little more lenient than she otherwise had been.

She found a place in the corner and curled up as Khan waddled into the room, only coming out now that the boys had gone. After what had happened with the he-platypus, she'd become a little skittish, and had decided to remain in hiding the next time the boys came over. She was a little nervous about Moon now, too, after she had taken her into that unnatural place. She couldn't quite tell why she hadn't liked it there; it was just a strange feeling about the place, and it made it seem eery to her. That said, she did like how the pool felt on her. She'd never been able to swim before - her old humans kept her locked up in a small steel cage all the time - but she had been surprisingly good at it, and if it hadn't been for the strangeness of the place she might consider going back. Maybe that was where the he-platypus liked to stay, she thought with a yawn. She settled on the floor in the corner with Moon, content to be with her rather than on her own. She was certain that if she hadn't fought him off, the he-platypus would have beaten her. He had seemed more friendly a few days ago; what had happened? Was it something she'd done? She could only wonder, for she was certain that the he-platypus wouldn't tell her. She only sighed, eventually drifting into sleep.

* * *

Perry couldn't sleep, and it wasn't because his ribs were aching from the bruise that Moon had given him. He was worried about Khan. Even though he knew now that she was the rogue Agent K, he couldn't bring himself to face her again. He knew he couldn't hurt her. When he had found her in the woods the other night, he'd known even then that he wouldn't be able to. He only wanted to bring her back to the OWCA and let them handle it. If that wild Moon hadn't kicked him so hard he might consider trying again, but she wouldn't leave Khan alone this time. She'd be watching her, and Perry wouldn't even be able to get close. He was aware, too, that Khan had found out about him. The minute he'd pinned her down he'd made it clear that he was after her, and he was certain she would be wary of him. She'd likely be eager to stay close to Moon as well, and that put him in a bit of a conundrum, he thought dryly. It seemed that she was always a step ahead of him. When he'd searched the house, he hadn't found so much as a trace of her, and he was beginning to think she'd seen him coming. But how? He'd only received the mission that morning. She couldn't possibly have known he would be there so soon.

It suddenly struck him that she might retaliate. She knew he was injured - if she as going to get rid of him, now would be the best time. He knew she could take him, and so he resolved to stay close to the boys for a few days, at least until he got better. After that he would still have to be careful. He hadn't faced anyone so tricky before, let alone another platypus (although there as that one time with Doofenshmirtz, he remembered, but that didn't count). She was crafty; clever; devious; she was beautiful. He couldn't find anything he disliked about her. He realized he didn't even care that she'd left the OWCA behind. She just seemed so perfect.

But he couldn't see her again. He knew what would happen if he did. He knew she'd throw him around like a labrador with a chew toy. But still, there was a part of him that said that it wouldn't be so bad. There was a part of him that was beyond any form of reason, and it wanted to be with Khan, no matter what happened, no matter what she did to him.

It was then that he realized he was in love with her.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey, it's just me. I know a few chapters ago I mentioned the possibility of a Halloween one-shot. Due to lack of time and plenty of other things having to get done, that didn't happen. Sorry about that. Here's the next installment of _Duck Bille__d Crush_ instead. I hope you'll forgive me...  
**

* * *

As the sun dipped lower over the horizon, Khan was eager to be let out. She had adapted to Moon's sleep schedule, and so she rose with the night sky, or whenever Moon would let her out. She had a feeling they would be going together again tonight; the door hung open a little, which told her that Moon was out catching an early breakfast. Khan yawned, and then waddled over to the sofa where she'd found that little brown toy a few days ago. She'd taken a liking to it, and had been keeping it there since she'd found it. It was kind of nice to chew on, and sometimes when no one was looking she liked to put it on her head and pretend she was human. Sticking her bill under the sofa, she pulled the tiny hat out, letting it sit for a moment on the floor as she stared at it. It was a funny-looking toy, and she wondered how it had gotten there, but, for whatever silly reason, she had gotten fond of it, and she decided it didn't really matter.

The door suddenly swung open and inside came Moon with a dead deer slung over her shoulders. She took it downstairs and Khan followed, hoping for a piece of the catch. She hopped down the spiral stairs one at a time, and when she reached the bottom she headed into the glowing room after Moon. Whenever the door was open there was always a fire inside, and even sometimes when it was closed she could still see the glow from under the crack in the door. She wondered why Moon kept the fire in there, since it was summer, and if she was cold she could just go outside anyway. It didn't make much sense to her. She did, however, appreciate that there was always food in there. Whenever she went inside there was a pile of dried meat on a high shelf, and sometimes Moon would be skinning a kill, like she was tonight.

Finishing with the skin and tossing it aside, Moon gave Khan an amused look. "I know what you want," she said, "You're hungry, right?"

Khan blinked.

"Fine," reaching up to the high shelf, Moon tossed her a few chunks of wild-animal jerky, which were quickly consumed. It wasn't the best kind of food - she supposed she would like something a little more aquatically based - but it was better than what the humans had fed her before she'd been brought here. When she was outside, she would sometimes find dark red berries that she liked, but she had learned to stay away from the purple ones since they made her sick. If the pond didn't give her the creeps so much, she would hope that Moon would take her back there. Instead she just sat in the corner, waiting for Moon to finish with whatever she was doing.

Moon sat in silence, waiting for her kill to finish roasting over the flames. She'd eat as much of it as she could, since she preferred her meat fresh, but the rest would go to jerky for Khan. She remembered that Phineas had told her once that platypuses liked shrimp or something, but Khan seemed happy enough with deer and squirrels. Protein was protein, after all.

After a few minutes she was satisfied with her meat, and quickly devoured it. After she finished she turned to Khan, picking her up in one arm and heading out the door. Her footsteps were silent in the woods, and every so often she glanced up at the moon to keep herself oriented. She wasn't yet used to the forest, but she knew that eventually she would settle in, and she'd come to know the whole place well. Until then she would use the stars, as they were always reliable. She spotted the white rocks between the trees, and trotted quickly toward them, her gait shifting from silent to less so as she approached. She felt Khan squirm a little in her arms, uneasy, but she ignored her and hopped over the rocks to the pond. The trees grew thick and lush here, fed by the power of the pond, and the place that Moon had stamped down a few nights ago had already grown over. She stamped it down again. Settling down in the thick ferns by the water's edge, she stared down at the glowing rocks below the surface. She held Khan in her arms for a moment, but then dropped her into the water, watching the rocks ripple back and forth as the stillness was disrupted.

Khan sank down into the water, settling on the smooth rocks for a moment before paddling back up to the surface. She didn't like the eeriness of the place, but she was glad to be in the water again. She felt more at home here than she did at the old house, and it occurred to her that maybe eventually the place would seem less mysterious if she came more often. Moon's house made her nervous at first, too, but she was beginning to get used to that. Perhaps this was the same.

She wondered too about the he-platypus. She hadn't seen him since that night, when he'd attacked her, and she thought that might be best. She didn't know what had made him so hostile all of a sudden, and that was a little troubling to her. Up until then she had liked him, but she was certain it wouldn't be the same anymore. Whatever she had done to irk him, it must have been some horrendous kind of offensive, but she had not a clue what that might be. As she sat low in the pond she thought about this, but even after a long silence she came up blank. Maybe she could go and ask him, she thought in amusement. Maybe he could tell her what it was she'd done.

But the more she thought about it, the more it began to sound like a decent idea. The part of her mind that told her that he'd only beat her up again was slowly giving up to the part that said maybe he would be a little more willing to talk, as long as she was careful. Her mind now made up, she floated for a while in the pond before Moon took her back to the house.

* * *

It was after sunrise when Khan was finally able to slip away from Moon. She's tried several times all night, but Moon had kept a sharp eye on her, no doubt because of what had happened with the other platypus. Regardless, with Moon asleep it was easy for her to get out of the house. Now the only question was where the he-platypus' house was. She wasn't really sure, but she could see a tight neighborhood not too far form here. She'd start with that.

After wandering for a little longer than she cared to admit she was able to find the boys in their backyard. They seemed preoccupied with something, and although she had no idea what it was she saw the chance to see their pet. She found him under the tree in the middle of the yard, but soon as she spotted him she froze. Suddenly a little nervous, she was careful to approach.

Perry sat, watching the boys build whatever it was they were building. Usually Perry didn't get to see, and so he appreciated the chance when it came up. He didn't know what exactly it was going to be, but he had a few guesses. Something along the lines of a little ice-creature from a popular video game, perhaps, or maybe-

Suddenly spotting Khan, his mind stalled. What was she doing here? Wasn't Moon keeping an eye on her? He knew he'd be no match for her. He was still a little sore from what Moon had done to him a few days ago, although he was certain Khan wasn't. His eyes were locked on her, but he found he couldn't turn to run. His mind was completely blank. He could only watch as Khan slowly came closer, keeping her head low as she stared back at him.

Suddenly Perry's watch beeped, startling them both, and Perry quickly turned away so she wouldn't see it. On the tiny screen were dark red block letters: _Report to HQ_. He knew he would probably get chewed out by Monogram again, but he knew he had little say in the matter and so he had to go. His eyes flicked briefly over his shoulder to where Khan was standing, knowing she was waiting for him to slip away from the boys so she could fight him uninterrupted. He couldn't slip away from her so easily. He turned back to her, his eyes on her. Her expression was unreadable; he had adopted a similar cock-eyed look to his own, and if he didn't know better he would assume she wasn't trained.

But he knew better. He knew she was after him. He noticed, too, that the boys had gone inside, leaving the two of them alone out here. Before he could think twice about it he turned and bolted, certain that Khan would chase him down. He darted quickly around the side of the house and into one of the secret entrances to the base, relieved that Khan hadn't followed him in. Still, he glanced back over his shoulder as he headed inside.

Monogram was waiting for him, but unlike Perry had expected, he didn't seem angry - just his usual variant of grumpy. "Good morning, Agent P," he said, "There's been an update regarding your mission with Agent K. One of our other agents happened to be in the right place at the right time and spotted Agent K in the middle of trouble. That means you can go back to your normal assignment of thwarting Doofenshmirtz. Speaking of Doofenshmirtz, he's up to no good again so get to it."

Perry nodded and then quickly darted off. So much was suddenly going through his mind: Khan wasn't Agent K, and somehow the real Agent K had eluded him completely, which never happened, especially not to him. He'd been sent out on a goose chase once and had even caught the goose. How could one rogue agent get away from him like that? Nonetheless, it wasn't his problem anymore. Now grateful to be back to his usual routine, he grabbed his jetpack and headed off.


	9. Chapter 9

Khan sat in the boys' yard, silent. She had wanted to have a talk with the he-platypus, but he'd run off before she could get a chance. She was certain now that he didn't like her, as if there had been much of a doubt before. Finally she decided it would be best if she just go home. She waddled past the half-built machine that was sitting idle in the grass, pushing the side gate open and heading back out into the streets. After wandering a while, however, she hadn't come to the familiar rainy woods of Moon's house, and she became a little worried. Glancing around her she could only see tall buildings, and she was certain she hadn't come this way before. If there hadn't been so many people around, she might consider following one of them in the hopes that they might lead her back, but she was hesitant to be with anyone she wasn't familiar with.

Finally she gave up, finding a spot to sit at the base of a big tall purple building. She thought that perhaps if anyone was looking for her they would find a purple building very easily, and on top of that she was getting tired. She sat at the corner of the building and watched all the hundreds of humans go by in their business, careful not to attract any attention as she didn't want to end up in a place where the humans would hurt her. After a few minutes she yawned, but she wouldn't let herself sleep - not here where there were too many humans for her comfort. She still watched them, and after a few minutes she saw a slouched man in a white coat walk by. He had a dark patch over one eye and several bags of groceries in his arms, but when he spotted Khan he seemed surprised.

"Perry the Platypus, you're a little early," he said, "But that's okay. Why don't you come inside with me and you can have some lemonade or something until I get all my groceries put away."

Khan blinked. She didn't know who this man was, but he seemed friendly enough. At least, he seemed friendlier than the other humans. Maybe he would be able to help her get home. Although she was still a little uncertain about him she followed him inside.

The human led her into a small elevator and from there into his apartment. He set one of the bags of groceries down as he pulled his keys out of his pocket, and by peeking into the bag Khan could see several packages of something pink inside. It smelled a little like wild bramble-berries, and her stomach rumbled hungrily as she sat with a plop on the floor.

The human picked the bag up again, having gotten the door open, and led Khan into the apartment, setting the groceries down on the counter in the kitchen and then turning back to Khan. "So, you hungry? You like yogurt? I just got the new raspberry kind, you want some?" he held up one of the packages that Khan had seen in the bag, tearing it open and giving Khan one of the plastic cups.

Khan eagerly licked it up, grateful to be fed something other than animal-jerky or bramble-berries. She was surprised at the sweetness of this, whatever it was, and quickly licked the cup clean before looking back up at the human in the hopes she'd get another.

The human was busy putting his groceries away, rambling on about something that Khan didn't understand. She understood little of what the humans said, except for a few specific things that had been drilled into her by the humans that had made her fight. She'd rather forget about that, though, since she didn't have to be with them anymore. She just sat, now bored, and watched the human in the white coat scurry about the kitchen as he finished putting his groceries away.

After he was done he turned back to Khan. "You know, Perry the Platypus, I've got a few more things to get ready real quick, but if you want to get into your trap and just hang for a few minutes that'd be okay."

Khan yawned.

The human didn't seem to notice. Instead he turned and disappeared into the other room, leaving Khan alone. He knew he could always count on Perry the Platypus. When he was ready he'd head back to the main room and begin his monologue, and shortly after that he'd be thwarted. It was always like that. Well, usually. For the past few days he'd been assigned to another agent, and he'd found he didn't like that nearly as much. The first day had been a disaster. If he'd have known to expect a marmoset instead of a platypus he would set the appropriate trap, but the marmoset seemed unusually businesslike, and had thwarted him before he'd even finished his monologue.

It hadn't gone well after that. He'd missed Perry the Platypus, and the marmoset (whose name, he supposed, was Mack) wasn't a suitable replacement. Just yesterday it had shot battery acid in his eye, and the doctor had said he'd have to wear the eye patch for a day or so until it got better. He couldn't really see very well because of that, but at least Perry the Platypus understood. Hopefully things would go back to normal soon.

A minute later he heard the _*click!*_ of the trap he'd set, and he smiled. Things would definitely go back to normal soon.

* * *

Perry landed on Doofenshmirtz's balcony, setting his jetpack in the corner and glancing briefly at the Inator that sat idly off to one side. Hearing Doof's voice, however, he paused.

Was he monologuing to himself? It sounded like he was. Perry frowned. He did appreciate the daily effort from the evil scientist, but he usually didn't practice his monologue when Perry was scheduled to arrive. A little uncertain, he went into the building to see what was going on. When he saw what was happening his eyes widened.

Inside stood Doofenshmirtz, with an eye patch (which he guessed had circumstances completely unrelated to this), facing the trap that had been set for Perry. Inside sat Khan, of all things, staring back up at Doof as if he might hurt her. He was toward the end of his monologue, and he held a small remote in one hand.

"So you see, Perry the Platypus, soon as I push this button I will instantly get my hands on all the hamburgers in the Tri-State Area!" he cried triumphantly, throwing both arms up in the air. Then he turned back to Khan. "Oh come on, Perry the Platypus, you're not even going to stop me?"

Perry only remained frozen for a moment, but then walked up to Doofenshmirtz and tugged on the hem of his lab coat. His arms crossed, he glared.

Doof turned. "Oh, hi, Perry the Platypus, hold on just a minute, I'm in the middle of my monologue to-" just then his eyes widened as he realized what had happened. "Perry the Platypus? But I thought-"

Perry didn't give him time to finish before sending a platypus-kick that sent him back into a stack of cardboard boxes. As he hit them the stack toppled, spilling packing-peanuts all over the floor. Perry turned to Khan, sitting silently in his trap. He had no idea how she had gotten in here, but he decided he'd worry about that later. This was no place for her. Pulling the latch that opened the trap, he led her out and over to the balcony.

"Now wait just a minute!" Doofenshmirtz exclaimed, brushing the rest of the packing-peanuts away and giving Perry a frown. "If you're Perry the Platypus, then who's that? Are you keeping secrets from me?"

Perry stared up at Doof, silent. He didn't want to explain that she was his owners' friend's pet, since his identity had to be kept secret, but he couldn't think of anything else to tell him. Instead he just blinked.

Doof just stood there with his arms crossed, but a minute later he brightened. "Oh, I get it! Perry the Platypus, is that your girlfriend? You have a girlfriend now? Why didn't you tell me? I'm so happy for you! Good for you, Perry the Platypus, I really mean that. At least one of us isn't completely alone..."

Perry frowned and then kicked Doof in the shin. Khan was not his girlfriend. He decided it would be better to just thwart Doofenshmirtz and settle this later. Tackling him, they both tumbled back inside the building.

Khan just sat on the balcony. She wasn't really sure what was going on, but at least the he-platypus was here now, and it looked like he'd gotten the same kind of toy that she had found under the sofa. That was okay with her.

A minute later Perry returned, holding the remote that controlled the Inator that Doof had built, and glared back into the building. Doof came out as well, swinging wildly at him with the business end of a broom. "Come on, Perry the Platypus, gimme that back!" he demanded, taking three wild swings and missing with each one.

Perry hopped back, holding the remote out of Doof's reach, and then jumped up onto the Inator. As he ducked back out of the way of Doof's broom, he realized just after he'd done so that he'd stepped on the self-destruct button. He jumped quickly down, tossing the remote aside, and darted for his jetpack.

"Perry the Platypus, what - ah, darn," Doofenshmirtz sighed.

And then the Inator exploded.

The shockwave swept Perry and Doof both off their feet, and Perry landed a little roughly on the floor near the corner. He shook the dizziness out of his head and reached for his jetpack, his job now done.

But then he spotted Khan.

She had been sitting on the balcony, and had gotten the full force of the explosion. She now lay limp against the railing, her eyes closed and several deep scratches all over her body. Perry darted quickly over to her, his mind having frozen in shock, and scooped her head up into his lap. He could tell she'd hit it pretty hard, and if he hadn't seen she was still breathing he would have thought that she'd been killed. He had to find help. He had to get her back home. Grabbing his jetpack he picked Khan gingerly up in his arms, careful of her head, and then flew back home. Discarding the jetpack and his fedora behind a cluster of bushes, he set Khan carefully on the grass and then ran inside. He found the boys in the living room in the midst of a game of Scrabble, along with Candace and Marissa. He took one of the folds of Phineas' shorts in his bill and whined.

"Aw, what is it, Perry?" Phineas asked, giving him a few scratches on his head. "You're not hungry already, are you? Dinner's not for a few hours."

Perry tugged a little harder, his eyes locked on Phineas' in the hopes that he would understand.

"Aw, what's wrong, boy?" Phineas frowned, a little worried that something might have happened. He followed Perry out to the kitchen, and from there to the backyard.

Perry darted quickly over to Khan, resting his head on the ground and giving another whine. He hoped that something could be done for her, since he didn't think he could bear to lose her. He only sat, his heart and his mind racing alike.

Soon as Phineas spotted Khan his eyes widened. "Oh, no..." he whispered, kneeling down and putting a hand softly on Khan's side. She was still breathing, but he wasn't certain how long that would last. He gingerly took her up in his arms and then returned to the house, with Perry close behind, and set her down in a pile of blankets in his room. He ran back downstairs to find Ferb, and within a minute the both of them had decided that Moon had to know about this. Maybe she could help. She'd been able to patch him up pretty deftly when she'd first met him, Phineas reasoned, so maybe she could do something about Khan. He wrapped her up in one of the blankets and then he and Ferb headed to Moon's house.

Ferb knocked quickly on the dark wooden door, but there was only silence from inside. Either Moon wasn't up yet, or she wasn't in the mood to answer. Regardless, Ferb opened the door and led Phineas inside.

"Moon!" Phineas called, his voice urgent and his eyes worried, "Moon!"

There was silence for a moment, but then Moon's voice came from directly behind them, making both of them jump. "What do you want? It's the middle of the day, guys-"

"Moon, Khan's been hurt," Phineas interrupted, turning to her and handing her the blanket with Khan wrapped inside.

"What? How did this happen?" Moon snapped, "What did you do?"

"I don't know," Phineas shook his head, his voice slowly rising into the beginnings of panic, "Perry found her in the backyard, and-"

"We'll finish this discussion later," Moon told him, then turned for the door, "Come on."

Phineas only nodded, keeping close behind her as she darted out the door and headed into the woods.

Moon ran through the trees with hardly a sound, her movements lithe and stealthy. She could hear the boys running behind her, trying to keep up, but by the time she spotted the white rocks they were well behind her. She paused only momentarily, enough for them to regain sight of her, and then headed over the rocks. She pulled the blanket away from Khan, crouching low over the surface of the pond, and set her down carefully in the water.

Finally having caught up, the boys stood behind her. "What is this place?" Phineas asked. He had to admit it creeped him out a little.

"I was hoping you wouldn't have to find out, but it's the nearest fountain of life from here to Seattle. Sometimes it can heal you if you're hurt. Promise me you'll keep it secret. It's not to be taken lightly," Moon demanded quietly, keeping her eyes on Khan as she held her up in the water so that she wouldn't drown. She wasn't certain if this would work, as she had determined it to have only about a half-for-half success rate, but she had to at least try. She waited a moment, hoping for the same reaction as she'd seen when she had experimented with it a few nights ago. After another moment, however, she knew the pond wasn't going to perform for her this time. She turned to Phineas. "I don't suppose you could fix her," she said softly.

"Well, she is a living thing," Ferb put in.

Phineas nodded in agreement. "I'm not sure. I mean maybe if we could put a microchip in her, maybe that'll make up for any sort of brain damage - that's it! Ferb, you head back home and see if there's enough parts in the basement. I'll be there in a few minutes."

Ferb nodded and then ran off.

Phineas turned back to Moon. "I think there's a way we can fix her up, but I'm not sure if we have the right parts. You'd better come back home with us until we know for sure."

"So be it," Moon nodded, her tone stiff and unforgiving. She knew this was probably Phineas' fault, one way or the other, but she didn't have proof of it and so she couldn't be so quick to openly accuse him. Regardless, she was still wary of him, watching him to pick up on any small clue he would give.

They headed quickly back into the streets of Danville, and from there to the backyard. Ferb was waiting for him with a small box in one hand, and he pointed Moon to the tree where she could wait. Turning to Ferb he glanced down at the box in his hand. "Do we have-?"

Ferb nodded.

Phineas turned back to Moon. "Okay. It looks like we happen to have the chip we need. We'll let you know what happens when we're done, okay?" and then he took Khan up in his arms, and they and Ferb disappeared into the house.

* * *

It was half an hour later when the boys returned to the backyard. They found Moon and Perry both asleep under the tree, and as soon as they came out onto the grass there was the creak of the gate, and Isabella stepped carefully into the yard. "I heard about Khan," came her squeaky voice, a little more quiet than usual. "Is she okay?"

At Isabella's voice, Moon woke with a start. Scratching the grass out of her hair, she turned to Phineas. "Well? What about Khan?"

Phineas only stood for a moment, but then nodded. "She's better now," he told her, "But she's a little...different."

"What do you mean?" Moon asked slowly, her eyes narrowing.

Phineas seemed a little hesitant. "Well, you know how platypuses don't do much?"

"You've told me that several times," Moon conceded, "What of it?"

"Well, you'll just have to see," Phineas resolved, disappearing back into the house for a moment and then returning with Khan in his arms. She looked much the same as she had before, the only difference being a small clean line of stitches across her head. He set her down on the grass and she returned to Moon's side.

Moon's eyes shifted back to Phineas, and one of her eyebrows rose slightly. "You said she was different," she prompted.

"Yeah," Phineas nodded, "The chip we put in her brain to make up for the damage came with a few extras. She can understand human speech now, for the most part."

"Really, now?" Moon said thoughtfully, turning to Khan. "Is he serious?"

Khan nodded.

"That is kind of cool," Moon admitted with a smirk, and then turned back to Phineas, "I guess I owe you, then."

"No, that's okay," Phineas grinned.

Moon shook her head. "I'll have a box of the best jerky sent to you," she insisted, "I'll make it myself."

* * *

The sun hung low over the sky, marking the end of another summer day. Perry stood alone at the gate to the backyard. Moon had spent the rest of the day sleeping here, but he hoped she would go back to her old house when she would wake up later. But Moon was quickly lost from his mind as he glanced down at the ground for a moment, taking a deep breath. Pushing the gate open he stepped cautiously into the yard.

Sitting out on the back step was Khan, seemingly bored, and when she spotted him she cocked her head to one side a little, curious.

Perry approached slowly, his heart racing, and came to an uneasy stop at Khan's feet. He wanted to say so many things to her, and yet he remained silent, unable to find the nerve to chatter.

Khan looked up at him expectantly, her eyes darting briefly down to one of Perry's hands, which was hidden behind his back, and then back up to his face.

Perry only stood, hesitant, his mind doing little but second-guessing itself, but then he finally showed her what he'd brought with him: a single dark red rose, plucked from the florist two blocks from the house. He set it down at Khan's feet, watching carefully for her reaction.

Khan glanced down at Perry's offering, and then back up to him. She gave him the smallest grin and scooted over a little so that he could sit next to her.

Perry did so, relieved that she had accepted him. He sat, returning her smile with one of his own.

And together they watched the sun go down.

* * *

**Coming soon: _Bellidor's Return_**


End file.
